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Smothering defense propels VSU against VUU and in CIAA
Virginia State University and the University of Virginia share more than just school colors. Wearing orange and blue, the University of Virginia has featured a smothering defense in rocketing to the top rank in college hoops.
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Crystal Cathedral, former home of ‘Hour of Power’ to become Roman Catholic seat
For nearly 30 years, the Rev. Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral was not only a religious landmark, but an architectural wonder and an embodiment of flush times in Southern California’s Orange County.
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It’s about time
It’s about time. That was our first reaction to Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s announcement last week that he is ordering the statue of Confederate traitor Robert E. Lee to be removed from Monument Avenue.
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City moves homeless shelter from Downtown
Homeless people in Richmond could face a bigger challenge to survive the coming winter’s bitter cold. Instead of heading to the former Public Safety Building near City Hall to stay warm overnight, homeless people will need to go to the Conrad Center at 1400 Oliver Hill Way in Shockoe Valley.
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Officials want to attract grocery stores to Virginia’s ‘food deserts’
Reflecting national concerns over “food deserts,” federal and state lawmakers Monday called for legislation to help people in low-income neighborhoods get better access to fresh vegetables and other healthy foods.
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Cherry Pick’d yields crops of good fighters, people
Cherry Pick’d Boxing & Fitness is where young people go to work up a sweat, release frustrations and get a handle on life.
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Barbara W. Rabin, a founder of HOME, dies at 86
Most people take for granted that if they have the money to pay rent or cover a mortgage, they can live anywhere they want in the Richmond area. But that was not the case 50 years ago when skin color often trumped income in segregated Richmond. Barbara Wurtzel Rabin and a group of African-American and white colleagues ushered in change. They organized Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, or HOME, and broke the back of overt dis- crimination in the sale and leasing of residences with lawsuits and other actions to enforce the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act.
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Personality: Montae Lamar Taylor
Spotlight on interim president of Va. NAACP Youth/College Division
Montae Lamar Taylor, interim president of the Virginia NAACP Youth and College Division and a student at Old Dominion University, witnessed the clash between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 that outraged people around the nation and the world.
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Personality: Bruce S. Richardson Sr.
Spotlight on winner of VHDA’s Service to Virginia Award
“Equal access is paramount,” declares Richmond Realtor Bruce S. Richardson Sr. of providing access to homeownership to all people.
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Personality: Pam Mines
Spotlight on founder of nonprofit JP JumPers Foundation
Helping people in the special needs community is a labor of love for Pam Mines. “I am not the advocacy voice for the special needs community. I am simply a voice,” says the Chesterfield County resident.
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BLCK Street sessions inspire entrepreneurs
A common thread throughout the inaugural BLCK Street Conference earlier this week was encouragement and advice on everything from organizing finances to mentoring.
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Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are providing walk-up testing throughout the area.
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No charges for officer who pepper-sprayed Army lieutenant
A former police officer in Virginia should not be criminally charged but should be investigated for potential civil rights violations after he pepper-sprayed, struck and handcuffed a Black U.S. Army lieutenant during a 2020 traffic stop, a special prosecutor has determined.
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City Council approves new tax amnesty programs
Wait until March to pay any overdue taxes on homes and other real estate to avoid paying interest and penalties as well.
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Sheila K. Mandt, fundraising consultant and wife of former Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, succumbs at 55
Sheila Kavanagh Mandt, wife and political adviser to former 3rd District City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert and a fundraising guru for nonprofits, has died.
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We must participate in Richmond casino, by Alfred Liggins
For decades, the state of Virginia has had a dismal track record when it comes to economic inclusion for African-Americans, especially as it pertains to the award of meaningful contracts and providing equal access to economic development opportunities to Black businesses.
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‘Our country has never been colorblind’, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
Elections always have consequences and this week we experienced Part Two of the Pro-Republican/Pro-Conservative Supreme Court. When we connect the dots, we realize the connection between Donald Trump and three of the six justices who voted to terminate Rowe AND eliminate affirmative action in college admissions.
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The difference
The past week has shown us a major difference in how two top elected officials have handled the coronavirus.
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Richmond’s banking desert grows
Outside of Downtown, the eastern half of Richmond – which tends to be largely African-American and Latino—has increasingly become a banking desert, bereft of branch banks that are more commonplace in the Downtown and western half of the city.

